Cardinal ran all over UW last season

As a freshman, Shelton was part of a Washington defensive line that was leaned on for 60 minutes last season while Stanford pounded away for 446 rushing yards.

He called the Cardinal one of the toughest lines he faced.

"That was just as a freshman perspective, going against two great offensive linemen. I feel like they made it real tough on me," Shelton said. "But after a year of experience, I'll be ready for this game, and I definitely think our line will be ready to go against this offensive line."

The two linemen Shelton referenced were NFL picks David DeCastro (24th to the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Jonathan Martin (42nd to the Miami Dolphins), whose departure left this year's Stanford line with new faces. But, the Cardinal is doing the same thing: running at teams. Which means Shelton, and powerful middle linebacker Thomas Tutogi when he plays, will be among those in the middle of trying to stop that plan.

So, does that mean linebackers try to follow them or get to the spot first?

"No," Tutogi said. "Run right through him."

Easier said than done.

"They have a cohesive approach to the game," Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "Play really good, sound defense against the run, then have the ability to run the football offensively, then utilize play-action pass when you get the lead and teams are really selling out to stop the run. They do a good job of keeping those things together.

"The challenge for everybody that plays them and us this week, is how do you get them out of that cohesive gameplan?"

Washington wasn't able to last season, which resulted in a 65-21 loss.

Newest Husky

Washington announced that freshman wide receiver Dwayne Washington has been approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse and joined the football team.

Washington, a freshman from Lakewood, Calif., will start school Monday with the rest of the student body. Washington had yet to report to the school while awaiting clearance, according to a press release.

Washington is from Gahr High School in Cerritos, Calif., where he had 100 yards receiving in nine of his 10 games his senior year and was also a sprinter and long jumper on the track team.

Also

When asked if there are any lessons from the 41-3 LSU loss that could be applied to the Stanford game, Sarkisian said, "Not necessarily. That was a different ballgame, a different team." … Oregon moved up to No. 2 in the latest Associated Press rankings. Oregon State made its first appearance in this year's poll, shooting up to 18th. Stanford is ranked eighth and USC 13th to give the conference four teams in the top 25. Arizona and UCLA fell out.